- Angst? What Angst?: Larry and Sir John don't really seem all that upset about the fact that Larry's brother just died in a hunting accident right before the start of the film. In fact, it only receives one small mention at the beginning, and then is never brought up again. Somewhat acknowledged by Sir John saying that it's common in the family for fathers to be distant and aloof with their sons (which he regrets). As for Larry, he's been away for 18 years.
- Awesome Music: Even with the small orchestra that they had, Frank Skinner and Hans J. Salter still managed to create a tragic, haunting, suspenseful, and well-done score.
- Fair for Its Day: One of the more famous film versions of the Magical Romani, treating them with an 'otherness' and using the word 'gypsy' to refer to them. They however are presented as very honorable people, with Bela even appearing to be a Noble Demon. Maleva even gets a scene where a priest criticises her people's traditions, and she defends them as being just as valid as Christian ones, with the priest clearly meant to be in the wrong (which is quite radical, considering the Hays Code were very strict about the depictions of the clergy).
- Narm Charm: The original makeup has not aged gracefully, and never looked much like a wolf to begin with and yet... it works, especially with the growls and teeth.
- Newer Than They Think: Many people believe the famous poem quoted on the main page ("Even a man who is pure in heart...") to be an old saying. In reality, it was concocted by screenwriter Curt Siodmak for this movie.
- One-Scene Wonder:
- Bela Lugosi is in the movie for less than five minutes, but he delivers a great performance, giving his character a sense of both dignity and tragedy as he faces his next victim.
- Jenny is such a sweet Genki Girl in her short screen time, but it makes her death all the sadder.
- Questionable Casting: The rather burly, uncouth Lon Chaney Jr.. was never originally intended for the role of Lawrence Talbot; at first, Universal had planned the film as another vehicle for Boris Karloff (which wound up not panning out), and Dick Foran was set to star in the lead until he was suddenly fired a week before filming. In the original version, Chaney would've instead played the supporting role of a American engineer hired to fix the Talbots' telescope — instead, he was re-cast as Talbot, making him a very unlikely scion of Welsh gentry. Nevertheless, few would now complain about the end results and Lon Chaney Jr.'s heartbreaking, yet savagely, sympathetic and iconic portrayal of the tormented Lawrence Talbot, which has gone on to be regarded as one of horror's best. note
- Signature Scene: Larry attacking Gwen in werewolf form.
- Values Dissonance:
- Filmed during a simpler time, when a guy could walk up to a lady he has never talked to before and identify the jewelry she keeps in her bedroom, and she wouldn't freak out or call the cops. Although it's worth noting that Gwen initially assumes Larry had met her somewhere before and she's just forgotten (and she had been wearing the earrings then). Larry doesn't tell her the telescope thing until later, and she's indeed quite annoyed until he explains it was an accident.
- Larry also keeps asking Gwen on a date, even after multiple rejections, and playfully acts as though she had said yes when she hadn't. To the modern viewer, it would look like him pressuring her into a date. By 1940s standards however, a woman would be expected to put up several token protests to remain respectable and therefore not look too eager. This is why Gwen doesn't simply say she's engaged at first; she wants to meet Larry, and brings Jenny along to keep up the illusion of respectability.
- The Woobie: Larry, although not to the Chew Toy extent of his character in the remake.
- The ending makes his father John Talbot one, too.
- The sequels eventually turn him into an Iron Woobie.
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